Roger Williams

Ohio State University, Environment and Natural Resources, Faculty Member

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Phone: 001-614-688-4061
Address: School of Environment and Natural Resources
367-C Kottman Hall
2021 Coffey Road
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH 43210 USA

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Hazardous fuels management in mixed red pine and eastern white pine forest in the northern Lake States: A synthesis of knowledge

Quantifying Aboveground Carbon Storage in Managed Forest Ecosystems in Ohio

The amount of carbon sequestered was determined on managed even aged stands on sites in southeast... more The amount of carbon sequestered was determined on managed even aged stands on sites in southeastern Ohio. Bottomland hardwood sites that consisted of sycamore (Plantanus occidentalis) and box elder (Acer negundo) were examined. The other forest types studied were monocultures of green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), Austrian pine (Pinus nigra), and pitlolly pine (Pinus rigida × taeda), and five sites of white pine (Pinus strobus). These represented a chronosequence of ages for each forest type. There were nine .008-hectare plots located on each white pine site and three plots on each of the other sites. DBH and basal diameter were measured for all of the trees on each measurement plot. Trees were destructively sampled to determine the DBH, basal diameter, and dry weight of aboveground components (bole, crown stem, and branches and foliage) and samples were taken to determine the amount of carbon in tree components based on percent of weight. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between DBH or basal diameter and total carbon sequestered and subsequently applied to trees at the plot level to estimate total tree carbon per hectare. ANOVA was used to test for differences in carbon content between components and species. Carbon is emitted into the atmosphere from both natural and anthropogenic sources. It is the emissions from anthropogenic sources that contribute to the accelerated greenhouse effect popularly called "global warming". Forestlands are capable of mitigating this effect by absorbing and storing carbon. Through forest management practices greenhouse gas emissions can be offset. Ohio forest products and energy industries (and others) are interested in the potential use of their lands for carbon sequestration. The term carbon sequestration implies the absorption and storage of carbon from the atmosphere into a long-lived terrestrial pool a medium such as a forest ecosystem. Forests store two-thirds of terrestrial carbon in soil and biomass by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it into organic material, an equivalent of nearly 1 trillion tons (Brown et al. 1993). Of all the plant kingdom, forests provide the most long-lived storage sink in the carbon cycle tying carbon up in wood and soil accumulation for years before returning it to the atmosphere by respiration, decomposition, erosion, or burning. Native forests cover some 3,400 million hectares worldwide, with an additional 1,700 million hectares of other wooded lands. Forest plantations comprise of roughly 100 million hectares (Austin et al. 1998). Historically, forests have been a net source of atmospheric CO 2 , as 80 percent of the world's original forest cover has been lost (Austin et al. 1998). Moreover, under current worldwide practices the world could lose 650 million hectares over the next 60 years, releasing up to 77 billion tons of carbon emissions in the process (Trexler and Haugen 1995). Because of these trends, afforestation, reforestation, and sustainable forest management practices become critical in creating and maintaining worldwide carbon stores. At the present time, six hectares are deforested globally for every hectare planted (Totten 1999). Plantation forestry and sustainable management practices of natural forests will need to be a focus to offset these losses. Increased timber growth and the resulting carbon sequestration in forests can be accomplished through improved forest management practices. This includes regeneration, which involves the replanting of under-stocked forest stands (e.g., those damaged by disease, insects, or fire) and the harvest and regeneration of mature stands. Stocking control is another approach to increase timber growth by thinning stands where competition is retarding timber growth. Increasing the

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